What type of lubricant for the front jack gears ? (and rear)

[Coach and JoJo]

I was watching an Oliver maintenance video by Jason. He mentioned a list of all lubricants and sealers used on the Oliver....I cannot seem to find . Anyone know?

[Frank C]

The jack manual says to use Mobilith 460.  

 

[John E Davies]

The recommended grease is a regular white lithium type. It is a poor choice! Clean it out and use Redline CV2.

These cavities should be well packed by hand, not like this:

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/4094-how-to-vip-3000-electric-stabilizer-jack-service/

John Davies

Spokane WA 

[Frank C]

Like John, I’m also a big fan of Redline CV-2 grease, and I use that for my annual Ollie wheel bearing maintenance.  But with the jacks, considering the pain in the a** it is to clean out all of the old grease from the gear drive mechanism, plus the very limited running time that the jacks actually operate (only a couple of minutes total run time per year for the jacks, compared to wheel bearings that see many many hours of high speed, high temperature and high load), I just used the grease recommended for the jacks (packed well) since mixing different types of grease isn’t recommended.  

[Coach and JoJo]

THANKS GUYS FOR THE HELP!!!  Happy Holidays and Happy Camping!!!

[Jim and Frances]

I am about to do this annual maintenance as well.  In reading John's post on the procedure, I am guessing I will likely tear a gasket or two!  So, I ordered some spares.  You can only get them from Barker Manufacturing.

(888) 367-6978 (customer service) - Bob is very nice.  Price is about $5 for part number 29306.  He said while the jacks are slightly different, most all use this same gasket.

Wishing us both luck.

Thanks again to John and Frank for all their help and support on this forum!

[Rivernerd]

On 12/26/2022 at 8:53 AM, Frank C said:

Like John, I’m also a big fan of Redline CV-2 grease, and I use that for my annual Ollie wheel bearing maintenance.  But with the jacks, considering the pain in the a** it is to clean out all of the old grease from the gear drive mechanism, plus the very limited running time that the jacks actually operate (only a couple of minutes total run time per year for the jacks, compared to wheel bearings that see many many hours of high speed, high temperature and high load), I just used the grease recommended for the jacks (packed well) since mixing different types of grease isn’t recommended.  

I also have high regard for John Davies' expertise, and his judgment on mechanical matters.  I offer this post detailing the way I addressed jack re-greasing, deviating a bit from John's instructions, in case it is helpful to others performing jack maintenance.

Knowing that the manufacturer, Barker, may not have properly filled the jack head casing with grease, I determined to follow John Davies' recommendation in this thread to open up the jack head casings on our two-month-old Hull #1291, remove the OEM grease and replace it with Redline CV2. 

That task turned out to be doable, but not easy.  I followed Jason Essary's instructions here:

He says to just tap the cover of the head casing, then lift it off.  Jason warns not to use a slothead screwdriver or pry bar, to avoid damaging the mating surfaces.  That worked for the front jack and the street side rear jack, but not for the curb side jack.  After tapping with a deadblow hammer, with increasing intensity for about 10 minutes with no luck, I resorted to plastic pry bars, the kind designed to remove automotive trim panels.  After another 15-20 minutes prying between the casing and the cover with the plastic trim panel tools, I eventually got the cover off.  There was no damage to the steel mating surfaces, but the OEM gasket that seals between the jack head casing and the cover was torn in one small place.

Fortunately, at the recommendation of Jim and Frances earlier in this thread, I had ordered a replacement gasket directly from Barker, using the phone number posted there.  So, I was able to use that replacement gasket, rather than use Form-a-Gasket paste to repair the gasket, as John Davies did.

The first photo below shows the plastic trim tools I used.

The front jack already had plenty of grease, and the grease was fresh, of proper consistency and not thick, unlike what John Davies reported in his post on this thread.  So I just put the jack head back on.

But, after removing the covers on the two rear jack heads, I found that, although the grease was soft and fresh, the rear jacks had not been adequately greased.   So, I proceeded to attempt to clean all of the OEM grease out of the street-side jack head casing, planning to replace it with Redline CV2.  But, like Frank C, I found that it was a "pain in the rear" to get all of the old grease out.  So, I "punted."  As recommended by FrankC, I bought a tube of Mobilith 460, the grease recommended by the manufacturer, which I figured must be compatible with the OEM grease, and should not void the warranty, because it is recommended by Barker.  Like FrankC, I concluded that given the limited amount of time the jacks get used annually (unlike wheel bearings), topping off with more of the manufacturer's recommended lubricant should preserve the jack mechanism just fine.

The second photo below shows the tube of Mobilith 460, which is labeled "Mobilith SHC PM460." 

I then refilled the street-side jack head casing, and topped off the curb-side jack head casing with Mobilith 460.  The third photo below shows the curb-side jack head casing topped off with Mobility 460.  I followed John Davies' instructions in his original post here:

Thus, I filled the jack head casing with Mobilith 460, and also added grease around the holes in the cover.

Finally, I installed the gaskets and replaced the cover.  The fourth photo below shows the cover back in place on the curb-side jack.

I hope this will keep all three jack mechanisms "healthy" going forward.  I welcome any comments or recommendations for doing this maintenance task better.

 

[Geronimo John]

Did you clean the jack barrels below Ollie's hull?  Once clean, did you lube them?  What did you use to do so?

thanks

GJ

[Ralph Mawyer]

same gaskets on all three jacks?

[John E Davies]

11 minutes ago, Geronimo John said:

Did you clean the jack barrels below Ollie's hull?  Once clean, did you lube them?  What did you use to do so?

thanks

GJ

CV-2 - a very light coating. I wear a disposable glove, and rub a small amount all over and into the metal, after degreasing of course. Brake cleaner works well, with the jack fully extended.

John Davies

Spokane WA